Author Archives: J D Jung

An UnderratedRead Revisited: The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You: Stories – Maurice Carlos Ruffin

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “In New Orleans, culture doesn’t come down from on high, it bubbles up from the street.” –  Jazz Pianist Ellis Marsalis (1934-2020) This quote that opens the book epitomizes these stories, as we meet New Orleans residents … Continue reading

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Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics – Elle Reeve

(Reviewed by JD Jung) I’ve been amazed how CNN correspondent Elle Reeve has put herself in risky situations to get a story as well as to obtain the perspective of potentially dangerous people. This is even more evident in her … Continue reading

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Pentimento Mori – Valeria Corciolani

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “It’s simply a matter of yellows, figs, vans, and kites…Why can’t I get a nice simple gang murder or an old-fashioned serial killer?” Public Prosecutor Jacopo Bassi has had enough of this murder case, the victim … Continue reading

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Jump: My Secret Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom – Larry Miller with Laila Lacy

(reviewed by Ann Onymous ) “Should I come clean? I was well aware of the risk of unburdening myself to the executive in a public accounting firm, but all signs indicated I was on the path to landing my first … Continue reading

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Tough Rugged Bastards: A Memoir of a Life in Marine Special Operations – John A. Dailey

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) Tough, Rugged Bastards by John A. Dailey is a memoir about the author’s experience helping to form and lead DET 1, a Marine special forces unit that was created after the 9-11 attacks. The book … Continue reading

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Liars: A Novel – Sarah Manguso

(Reviewed by JD Jung)   When Jane met her future husband, John Bridges, she was ecstatic. Since she was a writer, she was attracted to him being an artist and photographer. What she didn’t realize was that the demands of … Continue reading

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Rakiya -: Stories of Bulgaria – Ellis Shuman

(Reviewed by Don Jung) Rakiya is a very interesting collection of eleven short stories that feature various characters in bizarre situations that cover some of the history of Bulgaria. Each story has a protagonist that struggles to find answers to … Continue reading

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Blood and Mascara – Colin Krainin

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…all the women he had known and loved, the idea of them was there in front of him…and once he had come to love then, had he not carried them about within him forever after, like … Continue reading

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The Coin – Yasmin Zaher

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…in my family, America was both the key and the curse.” Our narrator, who is from a wealthy Palestinian family moved to New York after her parents died. She was left with an inheritance of which … Continue reading

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The Blind Devotion of Imogene: The Misadventures of Imogene Taylor – David Putnam

(Reviewed by JD Jung)   It’s 1973, and seventy-five-year-old Imogene Taylor has just been released from the Chino Institute for Women after serving time for second-degree murder. As she returns to her home in California’s Inland Empire, readers are immediately … Continue reading

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